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Day 55 - Go Bills

Something you should know about me is that I'm loyal.

This isn't just a "oh, I'm job searching and I want employers to know I'll be a loyal employee and work hard for them!" No, this is a core personality trait. Loyalty and a strong sense of justice - two traits I've had since at least high school.

Not a great time to have a strong sense of justice, but that's probably for another post.

I suspect my loyalty can be traced back to the Buffalo Bills. I started watching football with my dad in the early 90s when the Bills were good. The kind of good that saw them go to four Super Bowls in a row. (What happened at those games? Not sure. My memory is failing me.) But then I struck out "on my own," meaning I went to college. I graduated high school in 2006, so my undergrad and grad school years weren't Buffalo's finest. I remember texting my dad on bye weeks saying, "at least they can't lose today." But I remained a Bills fan.

Things have obviously turned around for the Bills lately. I told my dad in a recent conversation that I attribute it mostly to Sean McDermott building a team that wants to be in Buffalo. Josh Allen is happy to be here, and man, are we happy to have him. The Bills social media team does an amazing job of highlighting how happy and goofy our team is, and how much they seem to get along. Keon Coleman complained about the weather when he got here, but he seems to like being here now. He probably followed his mama's advice and got himself a good winter coat when it was on sale. Dion Dawkins loves going to Sabres games.

I was actually thinking about my sense of loyalty today because I went to the Sabres game. I went with a friend who is a Colorado Avalanche fan, and they were in Buffalo today to play the Sabres - the only time this year. She had an extra ticket, and because I'm currently outside of corporate life, she knew I was available to go.

We sat in the very top row at the arena, which I'm a fan of. Not only do you honestly have a great seat because it's a bird's eye view, but I think of it like the party seats!

But it wasn't very party-like today, which brings me back to why I was talking about loyalty. The Sabres are struggling. There were a handful of people with brown bags over their faces... for the 3rd game of the season. There were chants to fire the GM.

And yet, I'll stay a Sabres fan. Just like I'll stay a Bills fan. Just like I'll stand by my friends' sides when they make decisions. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean I'll keep my mouth shut. I might tell you I hate your decision, but once you go with it, I will roll my eyes and support you. I'll even defend you in a parking lot when you're driving the wrong direction and people want to judge you for it. SHE KNOWS, OK. CALM DOWN.

Lastly, a wild change of topics.

Today would have been my mom's 70th birthday. I don't talk about this a whole lot. First of all, it's been nearly 12 years now since she passed, so I'm handling it a lot better than I used to. I also don't talk about it a lot because it's mostly a private thing for me. I hated the pity looks I used to get. It used to make me cringe.

I was (relatively) young when she passed. I was only 24 at the time. I used to drive her absolutely nuts, and I'm sure I still would. Actually, going downtown today for the game with no real plan on how to get home probably would have stressed her out immensely, so that one's for you, Margaret. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll come up with something else to annoy you before bed tonight. And I think you would have liked Josh Allen. He's handsome (although, I'm sure you would have preferred him clean shaven) and funny. You never did really care how good of a player they were.

Anyway, this kahlua is for you tonight 🍻

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